The Other Verse
by PhoenixSong2013
Summary: When she had descended those stairs, looking so beautiful, his heart had jumped in his throat and the only words he could manage were, "You look beautiful, Evans." "You could call me by my name, you know." And, for the first time, her voice hadn't been filled with hate. - A one-shot I wrote a few years ago how the two Potters finally got together, based on a song I wrote.


_Disappear into the night_

_My child, you shine so bright_

_Your love can take me away_

_Flying until another day_

_Seasons will change_

_And we will both age_

_But you are my baby_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Taking charge of the form_

_But you are my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_I will protect you_

_Not because I'm obliged to_

_But because I love you_

_And that's not gonna change_

_They're gonna talk_

_But we'll just walk_

_As long as we don't care_

_The world won't dare_

_To say a word_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Taking control of the form_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will fight, we will stand strong_

_This war will go on and on_

_You're my baby_

_But that's not gonna change_

_Honey you don't have to bring_

_Good things, don't have to sing_

_This song was written just for you_

_So do what you do_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_I love you_

_I love you_

_I love you, for who you are_

_No one else can raise the bar_

_You're my baby_

_That's not going to change_

_May the world bring anything_

_To challenge us - together we will sing_

_We will stand strong_

_We'll get through it all_

_As long as you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will stand strong_

_We'll get through it all_

_As long as you're my baby_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Step up, take control of the form_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will age_

_We will change_

_But there's one thing_

_That will fight through anything_

_The world shall throw in our path_

_We will show who we are_

_Time will tell how long we stand_

_Wind will sweep through the land_

_The battle will take place_

_And blood will splatter your face_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_Your eyes, they shine so bright_

_Tonight, you are my light_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_I will wait until you see_

_That there's another part of me_

_That will always stand beside you_

_My heart will always belong with you_

_Where you go, I will follow_

_Never one without the other_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_And you're my baby_

_That's not going to change_

_We will stand strong_

_You know we'll get through it all_

_We will fight_

_For the light_

_And the light will shine above_

_The battlefield tonight - you will stand_

_In the middle of the bodies_

_Piling the floor_

_And you will smile_

_Your hair and your eyes stained_

_Tainted_

_Death and despair, destruction_

_The ground ruptured_

_You have killed_

_Your hands are red with blood_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not going to..._

_Change_

He remembered the first time he had heard that song on the wireless radio, sitting in his room and packing his trunk for the summer. Sirius and Remus had stayed the summer and he had had the time of his life, his smile bright enough to outshine the sun, but something had seemed out of place - the presence of another, the angelic presence he had been dreaming of since he was eleven, standing right next to him and beaming up at him as though he was Merlin himself. His angel's presence, his beautiful firebird's presence, the same woman he had been thinking of when it began. Lily Evans was not in his arms when he heard that song, but he had vowed to himself that one day this beautiful girl he had fallen for would fall into his arms and listen to this same song with him.

Now he could finally have that moment. James had only been hoping for a warm, cosy night in front of the Head's Common Room fire, but when she had descended the stairs looking like that and asked him what he thought of her new dress from her mother and father as a birthday present, his evening's plans had been diminished in one single moment. His breath caught in his throat and he thought she had never looked as beautiful as she did now; to him, this was saying something else altogether than his rambling that always seemed to carry on for weeks. His mouth had tumbled open before he could stop it and he had said numbly, "You look beautiful, Evans." He could have kicked himself, but when he saw the red blots flood into her cheeks he knew he had said the right thing.

"You know, you could try and call me Lily," she said softly, taking a step away from the bottom of the stairs and brushing down her emerald dress, her matching eyes twinkling in such a way he could almost spot the flecks of brown and blue in them that he had spotted over the last year of being in such close quarters with her, her ever-friendly nature entrancing him in such a way he couldn't get enough of her. "James," she added after a moment, and his name sounded so right on her tongue he decided he liked it. She sat down opposite him, pulling her feet up on the coffee table beside her, and his heart jumped rapidly against his chest as he thought for words that didn't seem to want to escape his lips.

"Lily," he spoke after a moment, and the way her name felt on his lips was so... right. James was entranced as her familiar bright smile leapt onto her face and her eyes twinkled all the more lightly. They shone like stars in the dark room, dancing like the fire in a beacon, her smile bright enough to cause a small, delirious grin to appear on his own face. "I know you don't like me at all..." he trailed off as her eyes widened and her rapt and incredulous attention was on him. "... but I want you to know that I - well, what I'm trying to say is-"

She cut him off, eyes shining bright and her cheeks still flooded with colour. "After all the times I broke your heart I'm surprised you still talk to me, James. I told you I hated you and that you would never amount to anything, but inside I felt so differently, so differently you would hate me for making you think otherwise - the truth is that you mean more to me than I let on," she was dancing carefully around a subject as though she didn't want to say it, afraid of his reaction and what he might think of her once she said it, and both of them knew it. Lily sighed and pushed herself from the coffee table to sit beside him and his heart sped up in his chest, his hazel eyes so full of hope. "What I'm trying to say is, I love you - I think I have since third year."

His heart stopped and started again, leaping in his chest as his eyes shone with joy and wonder. "I think - I think I love you, too," he whispered, and she smiled hopefully at him, as though she was still waiting for his reaction. "So much I could never hate you - you made my life brighter just when I think about you. You're perfect... how could I not love you? It doesn't matter how many times you broke my heart, it matters that you're in it now and just how much I love you and how long you're willing to stand for until you'll have me. I was an arrogant toe-rag, just like you used to say, and I don't deserve your love."

"I'm not perfect," she murmured, her eyes shining with tears as she looked up at him. "I told you I hated you when I loved you, I lied to your face when I told you that I would never even consider going on a date with you, when all along all you wanted was my love. I never gave it to you when you needed it, and that makes me a horrible person. I'm a horrible person," she dragged her knees to her chest and buried her face in them. "I even drove my own sister away."

His heart gave a great pang as he looked down at her tearful emerald eyes, her tear-stained cheeks, the tears glistening on her freckled skin. "You didn't drive anyone away, Lily Evans. Petunia turned her back on you, not the other way around - you need to stop seeing things the way she wants them to be and from your own, beautiful, beautiful eyes because that should be what matters to you, and not what the others think," his voice was firm and left no room for argument, but she didn't give any sign of wanting to give any. She just looked shocked. "You're not a horrible person - you're the most wonderful person that I've ever met. You're smart, funny, beautiful, and you're not afraid to be who you are and you don't let what anyone says get to you. You're brave, and you're vibrant, and that's all I ever want from you - just be who you are and you'll never be a horrible person." His own eyes welled with tears and he blinked rapidly as she shuffled closer to him in the dim light the fire cast over them. He didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his lap as she buried her face in the crook of his neck and began to sob. "I waited for you all these years and now I know you love me too I feel like I should be dancing. You're all I ever wanted and now that you love me I'm determined to make you mine, Lily. Will you be mine?"

She gave a small laugh and looked up at him with teary eyes, but he saw the spark in them that made his stomach squirm and then the song was playing over and over in his head again. "You've said that so many times I don't know what to say anymore but yes," she whispered, and this was all the provocation he needed to swoop down and capture her red lips with his, his hands holding her own small, velvety ones in his and encasing them in warmth.

_Disappear into the night_

_My child, you shine so bright_

_Your love can take me away_

_Flying until another day_

_Seasons will change_

_And we will both age_

_But you are my baby_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Taking charge of the form_

_But you are my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_I will protect you_

_Not because I'm obliged to_

_But because I love you_

_And that's not gonna change_

_They're gonna talk_

_But we'll just walk_

_As long as we don't care_

_The world won't dare_

_To say a word_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Taking control of the form_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will fight, we will stand strong_

_This war will go on and on_

_You're my baby_

_But that's not gonna change_

_Honey you don't have to bring_

_Good things, don't have to sing_

_This song was written just for you_

_So do what you do_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_I love you_

_I love you_

_I love you, for who you are_

_No one else can raise the bar_

_You're my baby_

_That's not going to change_

_May the world bring anything_

_To challenge us - together we will sing_

_We will stand strong_

_We'll get through it all_

_As long as you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will stand strong_

_We'll get through it all_

_As long as you're my baby_

_Winter will stir up a storm_

_Step up, take control of the form_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not gonna change_

_We will age_

_We will change_

_But there's one thing_

_That will fight through anything_

_The world shall throw in our path_

_We will show who we are_

_Time will tell how long we stand_

_Wind will sweep through the land_

_The battle will take place_

_And blood will splatter your face_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_Your eyes, they shine so bright_

_Tonight, you are my light_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_I will wait until you see_

_That there's another part of me_

_That will always stand beside you_

_My heart will always belong with you_

_Where you go, I will follow_

_Never one without the other_

_And you're my baby_

_And that's not going to change_

_And you're my baby_

_That's not going to change_

_We will stand strong_

_You know we'll get through it all_

_We will fight_

_For the light_

_And the light will shine above_

_The battlefield tonight - you will stand_

_In the middle of the bodies_

_Piling the floor_

_And you will smile_

_Your hair and your eyes stained_

_Tainted_

_Death and despair, destruction_

_The ground ruptured_

_You have killed_

_Your hands are red with blood_

_But you're my baby_

_And that's not going to..._

_Change_

His angel was in his arms and that was what mattered most to him. Her soft lips were pressed against his and he could taste the sweet pumpkin juice she had had had at dinner, and even though he didn't really like pumpkin juice, it was now his favourite drink in the world, if only because she drank it, her lips still lingering with the taste of pumpkin from the feast.

He silently made up his own verse in his head, his lips still moving in sync with hers as her hand slipped out of his and dragged a blanket over both of them.

_Your eyes will dance in the firelight_

_Bright and my heart is soaring tonight_

_You're all I need and now you're mine_

_I'm not going to let you go_

_And you're my baby_

_That's not going to change_

_That's not going to_

_Change_


End file.
